Mr. Kebba Foon,

Kindly excuse my tardy response. I am glad you found my aritcle so useful as
to prompt you to engage me with some of the issues raised therein.
[ Unfortunately, I can only be deliberately selective in my response because
making references to Save the Gambia Fund has become pathologically
repetitive for me. Please trust me when I say that I was so enthusiatic
about it that I suggested positions that I thought would broaden its
objectives and offer it a more democratic foundation; then you will see that
some of the questions you raised were unnecessary].

Firstly, I do not subscribe to any notion of sanctioning criticism either
because it is not constructive or because no alternative course of action or
belief is presented. Criticism and self-criticism must be permanent
properties of any socio-political enterprise, if that enterprise should not
risk gradual decay. It is absolutely legitimate to critique the STGF even if
one does not offer any alternative to it. The question of figuring out a
"workable alternative" as you put it, is the business of everyone, not just
the critique. A coin does not have two sides only.

Besides Mr. Foon, I have for years(!) been advocating for a broad-based
organisation of Gambians that is politically non-partisan, that is
democratic and that carves for itself a serious role in the politcal life of
our country. (See my article "Understanding The April 2000 Massacre" in the
Gambia-L archives; perhaps the last time I openly called for such an
alternative).

Secondly. I did not claim that there will not be a coalition. What I tried
to do was to present, with the help of a historical perspective, potential
problems that may hamper the forming of a strong coalition. A coalition of
some sort may always be formed. But then the crucial questions become, in
the words of  Brother Omar Joof for NDAM, "a coalition for what and with
whom".

Thirdly, my case that I should not suggest to Gambians to stage a peaceful
protest comes from a simple moral predicament. Indeed peaceful protests as a
prelude to velvet revolutions do sometimes work. Yet while I share your
recently expressed enthusiam (and that of Brother Musa Jeng) about the
triumph of democracy in Georgia, I must say that Gambia is neither Georgia,
nor Bolivia; infact not even Zimbabwe. I would be much more comfortable in
encouraging Gambians to take to the streets in peaceful protest if I were to
be there with them.
However, I found your statement: "...once again Mr. Sidibeh the whole idea
of a peaceful demonstration stem from we the people in the Diaspora..."
rather sensational for its implications and untimeliness. I shall perhaps
discuss that at a more appropriate time.

Finally, since you seem to agree with most of the positions I adopted, and
that the fund did many of the things I suggested in the paper, it is clear
that we are in each others' company. I am convinced that our paths shall
cross at some point in the future.
Once again, many many thanks.

Cheers,
Momodou S Sidibeh


----- Original Message -----
From: "Kebba Foon" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2003 9:54 PM
Subject: [Fwd: Coalition make it or break it]


>> > Hello Mr. Sidibeh,
> >
> > Thank you very much for such an excellent lesson in the political
history of The Gambia. I am not going to argue about the history and the
analysis of the political situation of The Gambia you presented on the
Gambia-L under the heading " Coalition make it or break it". I will on the
contrary want to clarify the standing of the Save The Gambia Fund idea.
After reading your article, I come to the conclusion that you are very much
in support of the idea of an opposition coalition but like majority of
people who wrote articles relating to this subject, came up with doubts and
skepticisms but not in one instance propose a workable idea. I believe in
this stage of The Gambia's politics and economy, what we need is workable
ideas and solutions. I am not discounting the fact that history is relevant
in trying to find a solution to problems but its time we concentrate more on
the solution. There is no doubt in any Gambian or friend The Gambia that
change is needed.
> >
> > Save The Gambia Fund is an organization that is trying to answer the
very questions that you raise in your article. Mr. Sidibeh you wrote:
> >
> > So here we are, with the UDP, NRP, NDAM, PPP

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